GOV'T ALERT OVER CLUSTER OUTBREAKS

[Anchor Lead]

As the new COVID-19 cases exceed 600 for the past two straight days, health experts warn that a new surge resulting in more than 1,000 new cases daily may come as early as next month. They said it has become more important to speed up the vaccination due to start next week and build a sustainable disease control system.

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​Korea saw more than 600 new daily infection cases two days in a row. And his is even before the effects of the Seol Lunar New Year holiday and relaxed distancing rules are reflected in the numbers.

[Soundbite] Prof. Chon Eun-mi(Ewha Womans Univ. Mokdong Hospital) : "The incubation period is known to be 4 to 5 days on average. So late February and early March are going to be a telling period for a spike."

Experts warn that the number of cases may explode once school starts and people become more active in the months of March and April. Most of the health professionals agree hat a new surge is likely to be more serious than the previous ones. There's already a large number of accumulated patients by the end of each previous wave and the break between the surges is also becoming shorter.

[Soundbite] Prof. Jung Jae-hun(Gachon Univ. College of Medicine) : "Between 300 and 500 daily cases have been reported already, so the starting point of the fourth surge is higher than the third one. We can predict that the fourth spike is going to be bigger."

Moreover, the variants are spreading fast and infections are occurring almost everywhere in our daily lives. So it has become imperative to speed up the vaccination process.

[Soundbite] Prof. Jung Jae-hun(Gachon Univ. College of Medicine) : "The most effective solution would be the prompt inoculation of an effective vaccine. Other than that, we have no other option than to rely on the existing disease control measures."

As people have been growing tired of all the restrictions, practical assistance should be given to those impacted by the pandemic if the current social distancing and disease control measures are to be maintained.

[Soundbite] Prof. Kim Dong-hyun(Hallym Univ. College of Medicine) : "Assistance for small businesses or the self-employed should have priority. The government’s social distancing measures are not going be sustainable if this problem is not addressed."

Experts repeatedly emphasized the importance of vaccination as the vaccines bring more benefits than downsides and urged all eligible Koreans to get inoculated.